


Together

by orphan_account



Series: Trouble [1]
Category: Starfighter (Comic)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-17
Updated: 2013-02-17
Packaged: 2017-11-29 14:26:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/688008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sacha/Aleks prequel to 'Trouble'. Can be read as a standalone!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> Eeeee my tenth fic, wahoo! This is for Eli, who wanted a Sacha/Aleks spin-off of 'Trouble'.

They had always been close; that wasn't anything new. But sometime between entering secondary school and deciding what the fuck they were going to do with the rest of their lives, Sacha found himself closer to Aleks than he'd ever been before. Part of him thought that maybe it was just desperation; Sacha too abrasive for most girls to put up with for long. Part of him thought maybe it was because he didn't have to be scared of Aleks; knew that Aleks would never leave him no matter what. A bigger part of him was certain it was none of those things, that the reason he and Aleks had grown so close was more terrifying and real than any of those other possibilities.

Sacha didn't remember their first kiss; wasn't sure when they stopped being little pecks they gave each other as kids and started to  _count_. He remembered the ones that counted, though, when it wasn't just lips and useless hands, but tongues and touching and bodies.

That's why Sacha remembered Aleks' sixteenth birthday. Aleks' parents had thrown a party, inviting his few friends from school and nearby relatives. His mother had made a cake; flat and dense, but sweet enough that Sacha knew she must have used real sugar; had probably saved up for weeks to buy it.

Sacha had eaten more than his share; too hungry to care about the sharp looks Aleks' family shot his way as he ate a fourth piece. Aleks had just smiled at him, though, managing to look amused and sad at the same time, and once Sacha had finished eating, he stood up and snuck out the back door while everyone else was distracted.

He leaned up against the cold siding of the house, searching his pockets until he found an old, half-used cigarette. He lit it up as he listened to the sounds of Aleks opening presents inside; not many, and probably not anything more interesting than new wool socks. Sacha hadn't bought him anything, though; couldn't afford to, so what was the point in watching?

The cigarette didn't last long. He didn't go inside when it was finished, but just flicked his lighter on and off, watching the flame burn and reveal the barren landscape around the house. When the door creaked open, Sacha closed the lighter with a  _snick_ , staying in the shadows as someone exited the house. A long rectangle of warm light illuminated the frosted ground as the door opened, then a slim, black shadow appeared in front of it.

The door closed, the light disappeared. In the darkness, Sacha could feel someone step closer; no sound, but he could sense the shadows shifting.

"Aren't you cold?" Aleks asked.

Sacha licked his lips, flipped open the lighter and struck the wheel with his thumb. Aleks' face came into view, just at Sacha's side, closer than he was expecting.

"No," Sacha said, wasn't even lying with how hot he suddenly felt.

Aleks hummed and leaned beside him against the house. "You were smoking."

"So?"

"It's bad for you," Aleks said, voice soft.

Sacha snorted, flicked the lighter closed so he didn't have to look at Aleks' downturned mouth. "What, you know everything now that you're sixteen?"

Aleks was quiet for so long that Sacha felt himself blush harder, even opened his mouth to apologize, but then Aleks said, "Where'd you get it, anyway?"

Sacha flicked the cap back on the lighter, but didn't strike the wheel. "Dad," he said.

"How's he doing?" Aleks asked, even closer now; so close Sacha could feel the heat of him through their shirts, and the vague touch of breath against his neck.

Sacha shrugged, forgot for a moment that Aleks probably couldn't see it. "Drunk," he added.

"Oh."

Something brushed against the hand at his side, and Sacha was so startled that he jerked it away.

"Sorry," Aleks breathed, and Sacha felt the warmth at his side begin to recede; Aleks stepping away.

He reached out; tips of his fingers snagging at Aleks' shirt, then sliding down to his wrist. Sacha fumbled for his hand, clenching down tight when he finally found it. Aleks came back to him then, pressing right up against his side, his cold, bony fingers intertwining with Sacha's.

"Sorry," Aleks whispered again. Sacha turned toward him, dropped the lighter to the ground so he could use his free hand to search Aleks out in the darkness.

He ran his hand up Aleks' thin chest, curling around the side of his neck. Aleks shuddered, fingers tightening around Sacha's. Sacha leaned in, nose bumping against Aleks', feeling Aleks' pulse speed beneath his fingers.

"Can I—again?" Sacha asked, feeling stupid even before the words left his mouth, but he didn't want to fuck this up. The kissing now was new and different, and they had only ever done it a few times before; Sacha didn't want to ask for too much in case Aleks decided he couldn't have anything.

Aleks didn't answer, but his lips brushed against Sacha's cheek, down to the corner of his mouth. Sacha turned his head, hand at Aleks' neck tightening. Then there was light in the darkness; the door opening. Aleks jerked back, dropping Sacha's hand.

"Aleks," his mother said, sticking her head out the door, "come say goodbye; people are leaving." Her eyes moved to Sacha, and she added, "Oh, Sacha, you're still here…. Are you staying here tonight?"

Sacha opened his mouth, started to say  _no_  because the look on her face made it clear that she wouldn't be happy about it, but Aleks spoke before Sacha could. "Yes."

She sucked in a little breath and gave them a small smile. "You should come in out of the cold."

Sacha followed Aleks inside the house, pausing only long enough to pick up his lighter and slip it back into his pocket. He waited in Aleks' small bedroom for him to finish saying his goodbyes, leaning back on the bed and breathing in Aleks' smell. He glanced around at the bare walls and the sturdy, plain furniture; all things Aleks or his father had made.

Sacha sat up and ran his hand along the top of the dresser, winced when a small piece of wood caught in his finger. He raised his finger to his mouth, still trying to suck the splinter out when the door opened and Aleks came in.

Aleks frowned and closed the door tight behind him, taking a seat beside Sacha and gripping his hand. "What happened?"

"Just a splinter," he muttered, caught his breath when Aleks leaned past him to open up the drawer in his bedside table, pulling out a pair of tweezers.

"You don't sand anything before you use it?" Sacha asked as Aleks bent over his hand, straightening out his finger and prodding at the tip. Sacha just watched him, watched his black hair shine in the soft glow of the lamp by the bed.

"Have to do it all by hand," Aleks said, glancing up at him with a sweet little smirk on his mouth. "Easier to miss a spot."

Then splinter pulled free; the pressure in Sacha's finger decreasing. Aleks leaned back over Sacha to put the tweezers back. He slowed as he was sitting back again, glancing up at Sacha when they were just centimeters apart, placing his hand on Sacha's knee.

Sacha slid his palm over Aleks' hand, leaning closer, and just like that, they were kissing again; slow and soft and tentative. Sacha shifted his grip to Aleks' waist, his shoulders, not sure what to do with his hands or where he was allowed to put them. He never got a chance to find out, though, with Aleks pulling away and smiling a minute later, brushing back Sacha's hair from his forehead.

Sacha licked his lips, breath coming fast. "Happy birthday," he said, the only thing he could think to say being half out of his mind with wanting Aleks closer, to kiss him again.

Aleks' smile grew, but he leaned away. Sacha felt the distance stretch between them like a rubber band; pulling taught the farther Aleks got, then snapping back at Sacha when Aleks finally settled at the foot of the bed.

Sacha forced himself to the other side of the bed, leaning back against the wall so he wouldn't be tempted to reach forward and touch Aleks. He cast about for something to say, couldn't think of anything except, "So…it feel any different? Sixteen?"

Aleks folded his legs under him and gave Sacha a thoughtful look. "No," he said, "but I guess I should start thinking about the future."

Sacha's stomach dropped. "The future?"

Aleks glanced down at the pale bedspread, picking at a loose thread. "We'll be graduating soon."

"Two years," Sacha said. "That's not soon."

A pause, then Aleks said, "I have good grades…really good. If I keep them up I could go wherever I wanted." He took a breath and then met Sacha's gaze. "I could go to Earth."

"Go to Earth on a scholarship?" Sacha asked, couldn't keep the bite from his voice even though he tried.

"I could do it," Aleks said, still calm, gaze still fixed on Sacha's. "I could…and so could you."

Sacha stood up, heart beating fast. "I'm no good at school," he said. "I'm not like you. I've got money saved up, but I won't make it there in two years."

Aleks opened his mouth, hesitated, then said, "It doesn't have to be two years. If I got there first—"

"What, you'd fucking leave me behind?" Sacha said.

Aleks gave him a hard look, all signs of pity disintegrating in a second. "Wouldn't you do the same to me?"

Sacha wanted to say  _no_ , wanted to say that he would wait, but they both knew that wasn't true. No matter how much he cared for Aleks, he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to get the fuck off the empty wasteland they called The Colonies and head to Earth—no matter what the cost.

"I—"

"I don't want to talk about this," Aleks said, and Sacha was about to say he could go fuck himself, that they were going to talk about it if Aleks thought he was going to go off to Earth to be rich and successful and leave Sacha behind without a second thought, but then Aleks said, "For me. For my birthday…just for now, Sacha; drop it."

Sacha clenched his jaw, crossed his arms over his chest and glanced away. He didn't notice Aleks had moved until he was right in front of him, hands on Sacha's arms. "We'll get there," he said, pale eyes fixed on Sacha's; wide and sincere. "Someday. Together."

Sacha didn't want to be convinced, wanted to stay angry, but then Aleks was tilting his head back, and Sacha was stupid and needed the comfort Aleks always gave him, so he kissed him. They slept after that; Aleks in the bed and Sacha on the floor just beside, wanting to talk more about leaving and Earth, but keeping quiet instead, listening as Aleks' breath finally evened out, and Sacha knew he was asleep.


End file.
